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## Mitaadashti: Compassion towards the suffering
**(149)** Compassion towards the suffering, non-hatred towards the virtuous;
Serving appropriately and without discrimination everywhere.
**Meaning:** Extreme compassion towards the suffering, non-hatred towards the virtuous, and serving appropriately and without discrimination everywhere, are the characteristics of the last stage of the soul's evolution.
**Explanation:** The main characteristics of the soul in the last stage of its evolution, as described in the Yugalfera, are: (1) Extreme compassion towards the suffering, (2) Non-hatred towards the virtuous, and (3) Serving appropriately everywhere.
**1. Extreme compassion towards the suffering:** Compassion towards those who are suffering from physical ailments like illness, or mental suffering due to poverty, misfortune, etc., or those who are suffering due to the afflictions of the body, mind, and senses. Compassion towards those who are distressed and tormented by suffering. This is the first characteristic.
**Compassion** is the feeling of empathy that arises when we witness the suffering of another being. It is like feeling the pain of another as if it were our own. It is like the feeling of compassion that arises when one part of the body is in pain, and the other parts of the body also feel the pain. Compassion is feeling the pain of another as if it were our own. Just as a father is always eager to alleviate the suffering of his child, so too should we be eager to alleviate the suffering of others. This is true compassion or mercy.
**Compassion** is the desire to alleviate the suffering of others.
“The desire to alleviate the suffering of others is compassion.” - Shri Anandghanji
“Oh, Vaishnav Jan, know the pain of others.” - Shri Narasimha Mehta
How can one who desires to cultivate such noble compassion inflict suffering on others? How can one cause pain? How can one harm even the most subtle of beings, who are all interconnected? How can one harm any being, big or small? How can one hurt their feelings? One should always refrain from harming any being in thought, word, or deed. Not only that, but one should always strive to protect all beings.
This compassion is the root of the tree of Dharma, the essence of all principles, the agreement of all philosophies, the first of all vows, the source of all happiness and prosperity, and the well-wisher of all beings. There is no other Dharma like it. “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma” - Non-violence is the highest Dharma.